Local jobless numbers rise

Wednesday

ROCKFORD — Although the metro area’s unemployment rate increased again in October, reaching a new 26-year high of 15.7 percent, signs of optimism are starting to pop up in the figures.

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ROCKFORD — Although the metro area’s unemployment rate increased again in October, reaching a new 26-year high of 15.7 percent, signs of optimism are starting to pop up in the figures.

Businesses in Boone and Winnebago counties largely kept steady levels of employment from September, with a net gain of 100 jobs, according to Illinois Department of Employment Security data. The losses were contained to the construction and leisure/hospitality fields, which typically see seasonal declines,

The number of people living in the metro area who were employed decreased by just 32 people, to 152,264. The spike in the unemployment rate was caused by about 1,000 people entering the labor force — or the pool of people either working or actively seeking employment — and being unable to find a job last month.

“People may be seeking employment opportunities where they had held off before,” said Tom Austin, IDES labor market analyst. “There has been some positive news nationally on aspects of the economy, and that can influence people’s decision to re-enter the labor market and then look for opportunities.”

October’s unemployment rate in Boone and Winnebago counties was 15.7 percent, or 28,299 people, according to data released today by the Illinois Department of Employment Security. That’s up 0.5 percentage points from September and 6.2 percentage points from a year ago.

Although the month-over-month job levels were flat, the Rockford metro area is still down 4,400 jobs from October 2008. The biggest losses are in the manufacturing field, which has lost 2,300 jobs, and retail, which has shed 1,000 jobs.